


Second Chances

by ami_ven



Series: clone!verse [1]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Community: 24_times, Episode Tag, Episode: s07e03 Fragile Balance, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-01
Updated: 2014-02-01
Packaged: 2018-01-10 19:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1163380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ami_ven/pseuds/ami_ven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He could not believe that no one else had noticed her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> written for LJ community "24_times" prompt #22 "extra time"
> 
> (These are posted here in publication order— for chronological order, check out the LJ [master post](http://ami-ven.livejournal.com/192069.html))

He could not believe that no one else had noticed her.

Sure, he was only a clone of Jack O'Neill, but that also meant his eyes were thirty years younger, and he knew a hot girl when he saw one.

Well, okay, maybe 'hot' wasn't quite the right word. 

She was thin bordering on scrawny, caught in the awkward stage of adolescence. She had her blonde hair pulled back in a messy braid and wore thick-rimmed glasses, a skirt at least a foot longer than any other girl's, and a cardigan sweater. She carried a stack of books nearly as big as she was, nodding as she listened attentively to the high school vice principal explain something to her.

He dimly heard the bell ring overhead as he watched her thank the vice principal and continue toward him, her attention focused on balancing the tower of books in her arms.

She glanced up and saw him, realizing at the same time he did that they were the only two people left in the corridor.

"Carter," he breathed.

The fifteen-year-old clone of Sam Carter grinned. "Hello, sir."

"Carter."

Her grin didn't fade in the slightest. "Sorry. Hello, _Jack_."

" _Carter_ ," he repeated, then finally managed more words, "What are you doing here?"

She grinned again. "Aren't you glad to see me?"

"Of course I— Carter! What in hell possessed you to clone yourself!?"

Was she crazy? For all her talk of 'second chances', he knew high school hadn't exactly been the best time in her life. So what could motivate a PhD-level genius to go from astrophysics back to algebra?

She was looking at him now, an expression he recognized as part 'I know you're not really this clueless' mixed with something else he had never seen so openly on her face, and that he knew instantly he wanted to see there a thousand more times, especially directed at him. 

It was love.

" _Oh_ ," was all he could manage, but she beamed at him, blue eyes dancing.

"I kept 'Carter' as my middle name," she said. "My first name is 'Tara'."

"As in... Thera?"

She nodded. "Plus, it's Arabic for 'star'."

"I like it," he said, and grinned at her blush. "I went with 'John'."

She rebalanced the stack of books so she could hold out her hand. "Nice to meet you, John."

The second his fingers closed around hers, he knew he was lost. Her books tumbled, forgotten, to the floor as he pulled her close. He wrapped an arm around her waist, but she was faster, winding both of her own around his neck and drawing him into a spectacular kiss.

It was better than the alien-virus-induced kiss, he thought, threading his fingers through her hair and tightening his arm around her. Better than when they were memory-stamped. Better even than the time loop kiss, because they were both going to remember this one.

And it was absolutely worth the detention they got for making out in the school hallway.

THE END


End file.
